Sunday, January 9, 2005

 

Spotlight: The Seeing Eye, the first organization in America to train guide dogs for the blind, was founded in Nashville, on this date in 1929. Originally, only German shepherds were trained; later Labrador retrievers, Golden retrievers, boxers and some mixed breeds were also bred for training.

Quote: "A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down." -- Robert Benchley

Word of the day: inchoate -- being only partly in existence; imperfectly formed or formulated. Used in a description of the events of the first verse of Genesis that appeared in a review of Robert Alter's new translation of the Five Books of Moses. (story) (© )

Today's News:

• Sri Lanka -- thousands of parents mourn loss of children (story)
• Leonard T. Bayard -- mysterious jet tied to torture flights (story)
• Friends? -- Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt separate amicably (story)

Today's History:

• L. J. M. Daguerre -- announced to the French Academy of Arts and Science the first practical photographic process, the daguerreotype (1839)
• Juan de la Cierva -- made his first autogiro flight (1923)
• Commonwealth of Northern Marianas -- was established (1978)

Today's Birthdays:

• Richard M. Nixon -- first and, so far, only U.S. President to resign (1913-1994)
• authors -- Hayyim Nahman Bialik (1873-1934), Karel Capek (1890-1938), Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), and Judith Krantz (78)
• musicians -- Joan Baez (64) and Jimmy Page (61)